Time
by DenizenofTwilight
Summary: It wasn't the scenario he'd imagined a million times, yet Kairi made everything seem perfect. Join Sora as he tries to confess his feelings for Kairi before their big musical. NOT AU. Post-KH2.


**Disclaimer:** If I could, I would own Sora because he's perfect. I tell you, that kid has no darkness in his heart. Sadly I don't own him though or anything associated with Disney or Square… anyway on with the story!

**Time**

There was just something about the way Kairi twirled around on stage that made Sora love her more than he already did. Her uniform would just move gracefully around her, adding to the magic. How anyone could manage to make the Destiny Island High School uniform look like it was designed for him or her he could not fathom. Kairi, however, he knew, could pull off many impossible feats and this was one of them.

"And then, I'll "trip" and you'll have to be ready to catch me. And then I'll tackle you off the stage… and you'll break your hip, Xemnas will come back from nothingness and we'll run off together, after a heated make-out session leaving a somewhat dazed you behind." The princess of heart sighed in frustration; she should have known that having Sora in their school musical would be more trouble than it was worth. "Sora, I _know_ you're not listening and so help me if you mess this up the night of the performance I will _kill_ you in a very painful way." Kairi's words, along with Riku's snickering in the background, brought Sora's head out of the clouds. Being Sora's best friend for eleven years, Kairi was able to sense his newfound alertness when he shook his head from side-to-side; his ever-unruly spikes going in the opposite direction.

"I'm sorry, Kai, what was that?"

Kairi counted to three in her head to make sure she was calm before she answered him.

"I was saying that after my third twirl on the ballroom floor it will be your cue to catch me. And remember I'll be wearing an extravagant dress so be careful not to rip it with your big feet."

Once again Sora could hear Riku's laughs behind the stage tree he was helping to build. The Keyblade master had to admit it he was a little annoyed with his friend's antics, and Kairi's shaky calm wasn't helping either. Did Kairi really believe that after all he'd been through he wouldn't be able to pull off a simple school production? It was very insulting in his book. And Riku should have understood his problems- how many times had he confided in him about Kairi? Sora had wanted to tell Kairi of his feelings for her ever since he returned home after his second journey. Fate did not comply with that want though; something _always_ went wrong. After Kairi had ended up convincing them (threatening them) to join the show, he'd promised he would tell her before the performance somehow. He didn't want their first kiss to be a stage one; he wanted it to be real. _If_ she felt the same way… Sora instantly stopped thinking down that path; he'd annoyed Riku with that problem many times as it was. Anyway, the first showing was in less than two days and he was tongue-tied as ever. He couldn't help it. If he kept getting caught up in her as a result, _Riku _should have understood this. Perhaps the other Keyblade bearer just enjoyed his pain…

A loud cough _by_ Riku brought his attention back to the striking girl standing in front of him. He instantly disregarded his bad thoughts of Riku; clearly he'd been wrong. He would ever be thankful that he'd brought him back to the present to escape another lecture from Kairi about how he "_couldn't afford to let his thoughts drift now."_

"And remember, Sora, that the love between Aires and Cora is a very passionate, heart-wrenching, remembered one. The ballroom scene where Cora first literally falls into Aieres' arms is crucial; it sets the stage for the rest of the story. So we have to get it right. And _please _remember that my father is actually going to be available for this show, so I will do whatever it takes to make sure it's perfect."

Ah, so that was the reason that his love was stressing. Even though the mayor and his adopted daughter loved each other immensely, his job usually kept him from attending Kairi's shows. Since he was attending this one (no doubt re-arranging many things in his schedule to do so,) Sora had no doubt that Kairi would raise the Underworld to make sure it was worth it for him.

"No worries, KaiKai, if you just trust in me I promise that everything will go accordingly." Sora was pretty pleased with what he'd said. He meant it for the show and their impending relationship.

For the first time in what seemed like ages, Kairi breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you, Sora, thank you, thank you, thank you!" It was during this that she brought Sora into her arms. It was all Sora could do but not pass out from happiness. He knew he'd never get immune to the simple pleasure that came with holding Kairi in his arms.

"Hey, I promised you I'd protect you, didn't I? That includes protecting you from failure." He chuckled quietly, soon Kairi joined in too.

"Yes, you did." She smiled at him, and with that her grip on him let go. "Alright everyone, great job tonight, now go home and get some rest… and I'll see you six o'clock sharp tomorrow morning." They both ignored the groans that came from the other students, no doubt due to losing sleep on a weekend.

Sora stretched slightly and began to make his own escape; however, when he did not feel Kairi's presence beside him he faltered. "You coming, Kairi?" She shook her head and Sora couldn't help but frown a little at the movement.

"I'm going to stay a little longer and make sure everything's ready for tomorrow."

He began to say something but let it go. He'd one a many grueling fights before but in this _argument_ he knew his odds of winning were one to one billion.

"You know if you don't stop being so funny I'm going to have to go to the hospital; you know laughing sometimes makes it hard to breathe…" Riku's voice broke apart the otherwise fairly quiet early night air. At his friend's words, Sora once again began to feel some of his annoyance toward Riku resurface.

"I'll keep that in mind," he replied somewhat bitterly.

"Look man, I know you're going through a tough spot right now. And I'm sorry for being an insensitive jerk," he said with a sigh. "Although, I was serious that your and Kairi's looming relationship is much better than any comedy or reality TV show." Knowing that that was a better response than was expected, Sora let the last part of Riku's statement go.

"I don't know what to do, Riku, the performance is so close now. And as much as I lie to myself, I _know _deep down I still can't tell her." This made Sora hate himself. He'd faced many dangers without the slightest fear, but when it came to Kairi, fear was the only thing he had to offer.

Out of his peripheral vision Sora saw Riku smile; it wasn't a happy one - more of a knowing one. Sora was about to question it when Riku spoke. "And why do you think that is?"

There was a whole mess of reasons; Sora wasn't even sure what they all were. One was he was afraid of rejection; another problem was due to Roxas and Naminé. The couple had had some problems merging with their nobodies. And Sora could recall Roxas once saying he and Naminé could be together as long as Sora and Kairi were. It may have been being paranoid but he felt something bad might come out of it. Like maybe so much emotion in one body would be too overwhelming. The main reason, however, was…

"Because I don't want to hurt her again, Riku. I don't _want _to leave again but after getting that letter from the King I'd say there's a large chance that I'll have to. Kairi would never admit it but I know our absence nearly destroyed her. And that was when we were just _friends_. Imagine what could happen to her if her love left her."

"Sora, when I was trapped in the realm of darkness I thought I'd never see you or Kairi, or _anyone_ again. And it made me see all of the time I had wasted in my life. You are right; this may be the last time you could be with Kairi, so don't you want to make the most of it? And don't you think that maybe Kairi would value the choice to decide for herself if she can't handle being with you?"

There were many times since Sora and Riku had reunited that Sora could clearly see how much of an adult Riku had become. Even though Riku looked much older now, it almost seemed like that didn't even match how wise he was now. And just like that Sora knew that his older friend was right.

"You're right, Riku, at least this way we'd know. And after all I've put her through, Kairi deserves the choice of what should become of our relationship."

Riku once again grinned; this time, however, it was a happy grin that was spread across his face. "I'm glad you finally see that, Sora, or else all of our meddling would have been in vain." His friend's words caused Sora to pause in his stride.

"What are you talking about, Riku?"

Riku only laughed in response. "Why else do you think all of our friends got in charge of casting, and a large part of the musical? Lets just say if this works I'll never bother Selphie about her matchmaking again!"

Words seemed at a loss for Sora; he opened his mouth but no sound would come out. He felt shock, shock at what his friends had done, and shock that he'd been so dense. He barely even heard Riku when he said that he looked like a gaping fish. Riku clapped his young companion on the back to break him out of his daze.

"Sora, just forget about everything else except what you're feeling for Kairi and what you want to say to her. Destiny owes you for all you've done, so if you believe that things will go well then they will."

Those words made Sora recall his time with Peter-Pan; he had no doubt that Riku was right and if he just believed everything would sort itself out.

"_Yeah, let's just hope believing is enough to allow us to fly through this ordeal."_ He wasn't sure if it was his or Roxas' thought.

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Sora took Riku's advice and tried to forget everything except for him and Kairi. So far he wasn't having much luck, but he was not one to give up. He was determined to get this to work.

And work it had to do, for before he could blink it seemed like it was already five minutes until places.

_Well, it's now or never_, Roxas prompted him. Sora nodded at that - not like Roxas could really see it… but he was too nervous to note these sorts of things. His legs seemed to move on their own accord. And before he knew it, he'd found the girl he'd been seeking.

"Kairi!" he yelled out towards her. Once he got close enough to her he felt he would fall to his knees. She looked _so_ beautiful. Her hair had been curled and was in a side ponytail, while her bangs had been flipped out. And she wore a lime green dress with a wedding gown feel to it; the color complimented her red hair perfectly. And her makeup was flawless. Sora only regained his composure when he saw her father standing beside her giving him a warning look.

"SORA!" Kairi squealed at him. The mayor, perhaps wanting to keep from going deaf, quickly excused himself. In the moment he left, Kairi quickly grabbed both of Sora's hands and they spun around like toddlers playing ring-around-the-rosy. Once they stopped and the world stopped spinning, Kairi clapped her hands over her mouth for a quick moment and then found herself saying, "Can you believe we finally made it!"

Sora, catching up on her mood, shook his head from side to side animatedly. "Kairi, there's something I have to tell you; ever since I've known you I've never really been able to breathe…"

At the moment Sora spoke this Kairi looked at her watch. "Can you hold that thought? I have to get to stage left for my entrance; we can talk afterwards, alright?"

Before Sora could answer, Kairi was jogging carefully to her place, as not to damage her dress, and after that went out on stage. Sora followed her without thinking about it and it was only then when the spotlight was on him as well as hundreds of faces did he truly remember the play. And to his utter horror he couldn't remember any of his lines or songs. In a quick judgment call he bolted backstage quicker than he ran when he was using his ability "quickrun." Only when he felt like he was far away enough did he hear Selphie.

"Sora, what are you _doing_?"

"I can't go on, Selphie, I'm ummm… having trouble with my forms. My outfit keeps changing from Valor to Master," he lied, hoping it would be successful. "Tell Tidus to go on for me."

She wanted to argue, but with two minutes until the show officially began, she angrily stormed off to inform Tidus. Sora could hear the opening song going on in front of him, but being a total wreck, he couldn't tell how close they were to being done. If it wasn't for the sixth sense he'd acquired sometime during his journey he had no doubt Riku's sudden presence would have gone unnoticed by him.

"Sora, get on stage _now_!" Riku's eyes blazed and Sora felt like they were kids again when Riku could scare him with no trouble at all.

"Riku, you don't understand," he began to plead. "I don't remember _anything_."

Riku rolled his eyes at that. "It's just stage-fright; now _come on_." He started to advance on him and Sora could feel his Keyblade materialize in his hand.

"Riku; back off; I'll use this if I have to."

Riku held his hands up in defeat and backed up slightly. Sora couldn't help but feel smug about how fast things had changed. "Dude, you have snapped; just calm down… get him, Wakka!"

It was then that Sora felt two strong arms envelope him; he slightly wondered how he hadn't noticed Wakka's presence before. But before he knew it, he was being carried and quite literally falling onto stage. Not being able to keep his balance, he slid into Kairi, who thankfully caught him before they could both fall. Reluctantly, he looked up into her eyes; they seemed to hold more curiosity than anger. And he felt like he loved her even more again.

"Lord Aires, it would seem you are somewhat of a klutz. One would expect more from a man; you all pride yourself on the many things you can do."

Before Sora could think about it, he spoke. "Can one help himself if he loses his footing? Especially when his eyes are stuck on someone as beautiful as you." Somewhere in his mind Sora registered that wasn't the right line, but thankfully no one seemed to notice.

"Hmmm, a good line, Lord Aires; I think it just might have earned you a dance. Though, I think it best I lead."

And with that they began to twirl around the stage. Although Sora still couldn't remember much from rehearsals, he could remember much from his time in Halloween Town when he had envisioned Kairi and himself dancing, and with that it allowed him to follow her gracefully.

"This is amazing," he found himself saying. "I've never felt this way before. In my life I've been through a lot, I've felt many emotions. But the first time I looked into your eyes it changed them all. For the first time I saw beauty in them. Because after I met you I _wasn't_ the same person. The _world_ wasn't the same. Love changed me. And it's because I love you, Kairi… Cora." And there it was. His mind once again registered that that hadn't been his line. It wasn't the scenario he'd imagined a million times, yet Kairi made everything seem perfect. As they brought their lips to each other's he knew it wasn't a stage one - it was a real one. Much to his satisfaction he could feel Roxas' love for Naminé and it was not overwhelming.

Once they broke apart Kairi said four simple words he knew would once again change his life forever. "I love you too." A smile lit up both of their faces and the rest of the show went on with no problems.

After the show ended Kairi found Sora and hugged him tightly. "Thank you, the show went perfectly."

Sora smiled down at her somewhat smugly. "What did I tell you? If you just trust in me I promise that everything will go accordingly."

"It goes both ways, you know."

And Sora couldn't help but agree she had saved him tonight. But he also knew she meant their future possible adventures as well. "I know," he said with absolute sincerity. Their lips found each other again. And neither could deny how right it felt. Time may have been a limited thing, but Sora had learned from Riku to make the most of it. And in a world with a lot of things… that was the one thing that truly mattered. Making the most of it. Making the most of time.

**Author's Note:** Wow, it's been forever since I posted something, but I'm quite pleased with this piece. I don't know exactly where this came from, perhaps watching to much HSM3. LOL. But I tell you this fanfic did not want to end. :) I didn't know exactly where I would go with this, but some of my characters pleasantly surprised me like Riku and his talk about his time in the realm of darkness, and Kairi at the end. I was very pleased with the inner strength Kairi seemed to exert in this. There are a few things I feel the need to point out due to this. For one Aires' name was sort of derived from Kairi and Cora's from Sora. I wanted you readers to feel a connection between the play they were doing and the characters themselves. And I thought it'd be sort of cute if the guy's name sounded like Kairi's and the girl's sounded like Sora's. And also if you pay attention the scene they perform towards the end is the one Kairi had been talking about earlier. It should be noted since _Sora_ was the one that fell into the other's arms Sora and Kairi switched roles there in a sense. Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this. If you did let me know! Sora and Kairi is my favorite pairing so it was a great feeling to write this for them. And as always many thanks to my amazing beta reader Qwi-Xux. Luv ya Laura. May the light guide you all.


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